IP Word of the Day

A copyfraud is a false copyright claim by an individual or institution with respect to content that is in the public domain. The term "copyfraud" was coined by Jason Mazzone, a Professor of Law at the University of Illinois. According to copyright experts Jason Mazzone and Stephen Fishman, a massive amount of works in the public domain are reprinted and sold by large publishers that state or imply they own copyrights in those works. While selling copies of public domain works is legal, claiming or implying ownership of a copyright in those works can amount to fraud.

The person who takes a selfie will be the first owner of copyright in it. For the purpose of establishing ownership of copyright in a photograph, it does not matter who owns the device that was used to take the selfie.

Did you know it is almost certain that the term selfie originates from Australia where a drunk youngster first used the word to describe a self-portrait made a decade ago?

This is a term that stems from "low fidelity", or low budget, referring to artworks that use everyday, ordinary, inexpensive materials to create the work.

Plant variety rights (PVR) are a form of intellectual property right designed specifically to protect new varieties of plants.

Orphan works are works that are still protected by copyright, but whose authors or other right holders are not known or cannot be located. Music, books, newspaper and magazine articles and films can be orphan.

Trademarks protect the brand’s name, logo, pattern mark, colour. Your trade mark is the symbol your customers use to pick you out. It distinguishes you from your competitors.

Hologram mark is a new category of trade mark (as and from 1 October 2017). Hologram marks consist of elements with holographic characteristics.

The original is the earliest form of something, from which copies may be made.

NFT means non-fungible token. “Non-fungible” more or less means that it’s unique and can’t be replaced with something else. NFTs can be anything digital: drawings, music, your brain downloaded and turned into an AI). This tech is used to sell digital art. NFTs are designed to give you something that can’t be copied: ownership of the work (though the artist can still retain the copyright and reproduction rights, just like with physical artwork). To put it in terms of physical art collecting: anyone can buy a Monet print. But only one person can own the original.

Designs protect the appearance of a product or part of it. For example, the shape of a makeup case, the appearance of a bag or even the specific patterns on a shirt.